Includes key information about William Rufus and Henry I grouped thematically, as well as provenance for the chroniclers and sources that will be assessed in the exam. Useful for answering source questions
William Rufus and his Consolidation of Power
Greatest challenges and threats
Relations with the Church
William’s Death- accident or purposeful
How far was Henry I accepted as ruler
, Source Provenance- Major Monks, Writers, Chronicles
Eadmer
● Englishman born in 1064, was brought up in the Monastery of Christchurch, Canterbury.
● From 1093 was the constant companion of Anselm.
● Completed two major works Vita Sancti Anselmi (The Life of St Anselm) and Historia
Novorum ( A History of Recent Events) largely by 1135.
● Main purpose was to describe the Life of Archbishop of Canterbury Anselm.
● He hated William Rufus for his treatment of Anslem and deplored the Norman Conquest.
Geoffrei Gaimar
● Little known of his origins- writing probably during the early part of Stephens’s reign for
Constance, his patroness who was the wife of Ralph Fitz Gilbert.
● He was generally in agreement with the Latin chroniclers- William I’s conquest was a just
assertion of his right, however sympathises rebels (e.g. Hereward the Wake’s rebellion a
protest against his unjust disinheriting)
● Favourable view of William Rufus- praising his knightly and martial skills
● One of the few secular writers at the time- and stands apart from highly critical monks
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
● Set of annals compiled and edited by different monastic sets.
● Primary concerned with the peace and stability of England.
● Purpose: To persuade the King to act properly
● Disliked William’s simon
● Happy with his action against rebels in 1095 and his diplomacy with Malcolm- cares about
England as a whole and its security.
● A, and D versions got rid of by William the Conqueror, so the E version measured when
about the King
● Written contemporaneously
William of Malmesbury
● Monk born in 1095, died in 1143
● ‘Historia novella’ patron was Mathilda’s half-brother, Robert Earl of Gloucester- Henry I
family
● Based in Wiltshire- concerned with Wales
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